Can God Microwave a Hot-Pocket So Hot He Can't Eat It?

Can God microwave a hot-pocket so hot that He can’t eat it?  Maybe you have been asked this question in your Philosophy 101 class, or its cousin, “Can God make a rock so big that He can’t move it?”It’s called the “Omnipotence Paradox” and is used by atheists to ‘prove’ an omnipotent being cannot exist.  This is a “yes or no” question, so there are only two possible answers.  Try to answer it yourself first.  If you say “Yes” then you are admitting God cannot move the rock and so He is not omnipotent; if you answer “No” than you are admitting there is something God cannot do.  So either way God is not omnipotent/an omnipotent being cannot exist. 

Today I am going to point out the flaws in this question and its implications.  In order to really understand the two answers I will write them out as full sentences. 

1.       Yes, God can make a rock so big that He cannot move it.

a.       Implication: God cannot move rocks if they are too big

2.       No, God cannot make a rock so big that He cannot move it

a.       Implication: There is something God cannot do. 

These are full sentences but there is still a little bit of flushing out we need to do.  There is a tricky pronoun hiding in answer #2.  “There is something God cannot do.”  What is the word“something” representing?  God cannot do something; God cannot make a rock so big that He cannot move it.  The word cannot is used twice; there is a double negative here.  Basically, by answering No, you are stating “God cannot can’t”.  To put it another way, there is nothing an omnipotent being can’t do.  So actually there is a logical answer and it poses no problem to the idea of omnipotence.  God cannot microwave a hot-pocket so hot that He cannot eat it, because an omnipotent being can eat any hot-pocket no matter how hot and move any rock no matter how big, the apparent problem not being that God can’t build really big rocks but that it’s not possible for such a big rock to exist.

This question, though used by philosophers, is actually poorly worded and indirect.  A more direct question would be to ask, “Is God capable of being incapable?”  If He is truly omnipotent then the obvious answer is “no”.  By definition, an omnipotent being can’t be non-omnipotent. 

In reality the word “omnipotent” is never even used in the Bible.  In fact, some theologians argue that God purposefully chooses not to be omnipotent.  The issue here isn’t really whether or not an omnipotent being exists, the issue is who do you trust?  I, like atheists, tend to put a lot of trust in my own logic and reasoning skills.  When I learn something about God that I can’t reason out with my own logic, I tend to disregard it altogether which ends up leading to a lot of doubts.  I can’t just accept what God says to be true, I have to check it thoroughly and approve it with my own logic first because I trust myself more than I trust God.  It seems really silly when I think about it though.  Who would you rather trust, the God of the whole universe who created everything, understands everything, and controls everything; the God who knows you better than you know yourself, or your own tiny limited knowledge and understanding?  Do you really want to rely only on your own reasoning skills?  You will end up basing life-altering beliefs on silly philosophy questions about hot-pockets. 

Over time I’ve found that I can justify just about anything.  You can use logic to prove a point right or to prove it wrong.  Any argument you come up with to defend any of your deepest help beliefs someone else has already thought of and formed a counter argument that makes much more sense.  You are not the smartest person who has ever lived.  I am not the smartest person who has ever lived.  We are not God.  Obviously.  I’m ok with that though, I don’t need to be right about everything and I don’t need to have the answers because God is right about everything and He does have all the answers and I can trust Him.  So whenever an apparent discrepancy arises between what appears to you to be true and what God says to be true, put your trust in God.

Now, just in case anyone points out the contradiction of my use of logic to point out that logic is overrated, let me say that’s not really the point. I am not claiming that logic is bad, or that truth is relative or unattainable, I am only saying that it is possible to put too much trust in our own logic and understanding. Obviously using your logic is a good thing and I even believe God trusts us to make our own decisions with the brains He gave us without running to Him every time we need to choose between Wendy’s and Subway. However, if there is ever even an appearance of a contradiction with God we have to be humble enough to admit we don’t understand everything and just trust that God knows what He is talking about. Now, go ask your friend the hot-pocket question and you will seem really smart when his face starts to contort from the acrobatics his brain is doing.